Portrait of President Ronald Reagan made from Jelly Belly beans; Permission granted by Jelly Belly Candy Company

It is widely known that President Ronald Reagan loved jelly beans during his two terms in the White House. The public fascination with the food preferences of presidents has been well documented, but in the annals of presidential favorites, the gourmet jelly bean had a unique role in governmental affairs.

The story of of how President Reagan came to be so closely associated with the gourmet jelly bean and the Jelly Belly Candy Company of Fairfield, Calif., his one and only provider of jelly beans for forty-four years, begins in the heady days of California politics when Mr. Reagan ran and won as governor. During that election it became known he was eating gourmet jelly beans to help him kick the pipe smoking habit.

Those jelly beans were produced by a small Bay Area candy company, then known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company. By 1967 the company was sending a regular supply of their gourmet jelly beans to the Governor’s office. In Sacramento political circles it was known that Governor Reagan usually had jelly beans in his office and they were a common feature at meetings.

When he left office Governor Reagan wrote the company a letter of thanks that said about the jelly beans, “They have become such a tradition of this administration that it has gotten to the point where we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around a jar of jelly beans.” A reproduction of that letter is on display at Jelly Belly’s public tour center in Fairfield, Calif.

Ronald and Nancy Reagan aboard Marine One with a jar of jelly beans; courtesy of Ronald Reagan Library

By 1980 the American press noticed jelly beans were a part of life on the presidential campaign trail with Ronald Reagan. Worldwide coverage of his jelly bean preference followed as President Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th American president. Jars of Jelly Belly beans were donated for the inaugural festivities, and a bag of Jelly Belly beans was pictured in the official inauguration program guide.

The road to the White House was only the beginning. President Reagan was photographed in his office and at Cabinet meetings with crystal jars of Jelly Belly beans, coverage that included a story in a February 1981 issue of People magazine. He said his favorite flavor was licorice.

When the space shuttle Challenger went into space with the first female astronaut Sally Ride, President Reagan had sent a secret stash of Jelly Belly beans on board the shuttle and the world was charmed to see their delight of catching weightless jelly beans floating in space. Heads of state and dignitaries from around the world were presented with presidential jars of Jelly Belly beans throughout the two terms of the Reagan administration.

Known for his personal charm and charisma, President Reagan continued his habit of passing around Jelly Belly beans at the beginning of important meetings. As an ice breaker with political adversaries and supporters, those gourmet jelly beans provided a personal moment all could share. President Reagan observed once, “yYou can tell a lot about a fella’s character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful.” True then and true today.

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Tomi Holt is director of communications for the Jelly Belly Candy Company and a 26-year veteran with the candymaking company.